(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Many North Adams denizens know Jeff and Jane Hudson as the proprietors of Hudsons, a vintage shop originally on Main Street in North Adams and Spring Street in Williamstown but now located on the MASS MoCA campus. What local residents might not realize is that Jeff and Jane had a long history as musicians before settling down in North Adams. Influenced by the growing new wave scene that was permeating record stores and airwaves in the 1980s, they built their musical career on the new stream of technology entering music. Celebrating the re-release of their album Flesh, they perform at MASS MoCA in Club B-10 on Saturday, January 14, 2012, at 8 p.m.

Called “the synth wave couple of the U.S.,” Jeff and Jane Hudson jump across styles and sounds. Their album Flesh featured industrial echoes and absorbing vocals but also had electropop energy combining traditional sounds of post-punk alongside the gleaming new ideas of factory music.

Jane’s sultry vocals mix beautifully with cold mechanical sounds. Othermusic.com said, “Jeff and Jane Hudson in their early sounds take cues from traditional sounds, with elements of rock and folk coming through. Yet, soon it is the synthesizer and drum machine that are at the core of their sound. Melding analog drum machines, dreary synth lines, detached vocal delivery from both Jeff and Jane, a killer DIY ethos, and tight, artful sonic arrangements, the duo successfully blurred the line between pure synth pop and more guitar-driven post-punk, while retaining a playfulness seldom seen in the realm of arty, dark synth music.”

Jeff and Jane Hudson will be joined by Aurora Halal, a young video artist from New York specializing in retro late-night dance/video extravaganzas, and Irish singer/songwriter/guitarist and local hero Karl Mullen, who has formed a band with Jeff called Space Bar. Space Bar will perform an electronic laptop music performance. A talented painter in addition to being a musician, Williamstown resident Mullen has released many albums, and is an accomplished guitarist.

Originally from Boston and former members of the late-1970s new wave group the Rentals, visual artists Jeff and Jane Hudson moved to New York City at the beginning of the 1980s, opened for Suicide, the Clash, PIL and Duran Duran among others, and released a single and the World Trade EP on famed label Lust/Unlust Music, home to downtown no wave luminaries DNA, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, impLOG, and others. They relocated full-time to the Berkshires in 2005.

The performance is part of MASS MoCA’s Alt Cabaret series which presents emerging and established artists in different disciplines in the club-like B-10 with drinks from the MASS MoCA Bar and dinner from Lickety Split available before and during the show. The next live event in the series is Darrah Carr Dance on January 21, 2012.

Tickets for The Hudsons are $12 in advance, $16 the day of the performance, and $10 for students. Members are eligible for a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located on Marshall Street in North Adams, open from 11AM to 5PM every day but Tuesdays.  Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or online at MASS MoCA at any time.